Jazz Trade Miye Oni To Oklahoma City Thunder
Jan 4, 2022, 2:29 PM | Updated: 4:28 pm
Miye Oni #81 of the Utah Jazz shoots the basketball against Keita Bates-Diop #6 of the Denver Nuggets during game two against the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2020 NBA Playoffs at AdventHealth Arena at the ESPN Wide World Of Sports Complex on August 19, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. (Photo by Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images)
(Photo by Kim Klement-Pool/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz have traded guard Miye Oni according to the Oklahoma City Thunder along with a 2028 second-round pick in exchange for cash considerations.
Oni has spent three seasons in Utah but had fallen out of the rotation for the Jazz behind one of the deepest backcourts in the NBA.
Originally selected by the Golden State Warriors with the 58th pick of the 2019 NBA Draft out of Yale, Oni was traded to the Jazz for cash considerations.
Thank you, @PrinceOni13 đź–¤https://t.co/oqG1tcetUx pic.twitter.com/yL6r0M7aMO
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) January 4, 2022
Oni appeared in 80 games for the Jazz where he averaged 1.8 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 0.5 assists while shooting 35 percent from the floor and 33 percent from the three-point line.
The veteran had appeared in just 16 of the Jazz 37 games so far this season, never recording more than five minutes of playing time.
Oni’s best performance in the NBA came in the Orlando bubble as a rookie when the guard scored 14 points against the San Antonio Spurs to go along with seven rebounds in 30 minutes on the floor.
The Jazz are trading Oni to avoid taking on his remaining salary that would have become guaranteed later this month.
With the Jazz standing at roughly $18 million over the NBA’s salary cap they are set to pay a tax penalty of $3.25 for every dollar over $15 million.
Seemed pretty clear that Miye was on the outside of the Jazz rotation looking in especially lately with Trent Forrest getting minutes the fifth guard/perimeter defender. https://t.co/HIRqLZsxN1
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) January 4, 2022
By trading Oni and not taking back any salary in return, they can cut their luxury tax bill by several million dollars.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Thunder plan to waive Oni to open a roster before the trade deadline, making the former Jazz guard a free agent, free to sign with any team before the conclusion of the regular season.
The Jazz roster now stands at 15 players with 13 players on guaranteed contracts, and Trent Forrest and Malik Fitts on two-way deals.
